Radiation retinopathy: a mistaken diagnosis of hypertensive retinopathy.

Radiation retinopathy is a vision-threatening complication following therapeutic irradiation of ocular, orbital, facial, nasopharyngeal and cranial structures. It is characterised by a delayed onset, slowly progressive, occlusive retinal microangiopathy that develops several years after initial radiotherapy. We present the case of a 44-year-old man who developed radiation retinopathy, initially diagnosed as a case of hypertensive retinopathy, following irradiation of a nasopharyngeal carcinoma. A careful history along with classical clinical features and fundus fluorescein angiography helped establish the diagnosis.